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1] Sounds are a great way to expand your awareness. Right now, notice the furthest away sound you can hear. Get a sense for its direction. Then just realise that there are equivalent points at the same distance in the opposite direction and above your head. Notice them too.
2] You can then expand your awareness to include the equivalent points in the other two directions around you. Congratulations, you're in the middle of a hemisphere of awareness! Without labelling anything, just notice everything within this space.
3] I'm realising that while this is a shared human experience, some people just intuitively get it, while others struggle. Learning to notice and consciously control the size and shape of this is a valuable life skill, so here are some more ways in. https://t.co/Dgf9CCGvRv
1] I have the week off work so I have arranged about 15 1:1 Zoom sessions with curious folks. The key thing I need people to *get* early on is what expanded awareness is like. It doesn't need to be strong, but there has to be a sense of "oh yeah, *that*." So here's a thread.
4] I'm about to start exploring the AT concept of 'inhibition', which is a bit of jargon that essentially means 'withhold consent from a habitual behaviour'. When you do something 'unconsciously, like sitting or standing (try it), your awareness will tend to collapse.
5] Noticing that is a useful first step. In time you can learn to expand your awareness and keep it expanded while in activity. This allows you to avoid the well-worn habitual grooves and allow for something else to happen instead.
6] You may also find a correlation between the size and shape of your awareness and what your body is doing. If you aren't aware of the space behind you then you'll tend to lean forwards off balance. If you aren't aware of the space above you then you'll tend to slouch.
7] If you catch yourself leaning forwards, rather than pushing yourself back, try including more of the space behind you in your awareness and let your body follow. If you catch yourself slouching, rather than haul yourself up, expand your awareness up and let your body follow.
8] There's nothing *wrong* with narrowing from time to time – this isn't a judgement on narrowing. Rather, you don't need to be narrowed all the time. So listen again for the furthest sound you can hear. See what it's like to live for just a few moments like this.
Meta] If you've come across this thread in isolation and want to go deeper then you might be interested in my 'thread of threads' on the topic. https://t.co/pppidMHSzH
Meta] Also, if you want to dive much deeper into this stuff, I have built what I believe is the only asynchronous online course that explores Alexander Technique from a first principles perspective. You can find out more and stay up to date by going here: https://t.co/GHzsyr4ILq